But Baroni’s opinion changed when he did Rogan’s job himself. Now on the verge of a gig calling the fights for the new India-based promotion, Super Fight League, he knows the job.

Super Fight League’s inaugural event takes place March 11 at Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai, India. The event streams live on YouTube.

Not a lot of people remember this, but the UFC once sent Baroni to communications classes at UNLV. This was during his first tenure with the then-struggling fight promotion and after he got a call to be a color commentator at UFC 42.

A last-minute call, as it was. Longtime play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg couldn’t make it to the event, which featured a title fight between welterweight champ Matt Hughes and Sean Sherk. Baroni said yes and hopped onboard UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta’s private jet to Miami, where the show was being held at American Airlines Arena. It was April 25, 2003.

As it turned out, Baroni’s future in the UFC was in fighting, not commentating. And being inside the cage, he saw things much differently than outside. That came to light in his second meeting with Evan Tanner at UFC 48.

The two had met just months before at UFC 45, and the fight had ended in controversy when referee Larry Landless misread an in-trouble Baroni’s OK signal and prematurely stopped the fight. An enraged Baroni struck the referee and was suspended for four months. The rematch was supposed to answer the question of who was the better man, and Baroni’s momentum hung in the balance. It would be his third consecutive loss if Tanner defeated him again.

Unfortunately, that’s just what happened. Baroni damaged Tanner early on but faded in later rounds. Tanner, who passed away in 2009, won by unanimous decision. Baroni was heartbroken, and then he was angry.

Searching for answers, Baroni watched a tape of the fight, which he’d somehow found a way to record. When he heard the commentary, he became even even angrier.

“I put the tape on, and I remember Joe Rogan saying, ‘Phil Baroni was tired, just wheezing,’ and I was furious,” Baroni told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “So I ran out and the event was over, and I [said to Rogan], ‘What the [expletive] you talking about? I wasn’t wheezing. How can you hear me wheezing above the crowd?'”

The incident didn’t much escalate from there. Baroni eventually sulked off and went to bathe his sorrows in other distractions. Years later, he understands what Rogan was doing.

“I was tired at that point,” Baroni said. “I was butthurt at the time, but after that, I commentated with him, and doing so many shows on my own, I realized how hard it is. He’s just calling what he sees, and I was out of line for getting all butthurt and yelling at him.”

Jackson recently made headlines when he said Rogan was biased toward fighters with a jiu-jitsu base and that Rogan had disparaged him during his fights. In turn, Rogan said he was a fan of Jackson’s and trying to give an honest assessment of skills and potential in the cage.

Baroni knows both men and sees the issue from both sides. Where he might have sided with Jackson earlier in his career, he understands the function of color commentary.

“I could see how ‘Rampage’ can take what he says the wrong way, but until you’ve got the mic and you’ve got to call the shots, you’re really not being biased,” Baroni said. “I know Joe Rogan was a friend of mine, and he liked me, and he liked ‘Rampage’ Jackson. But he’s got to call what he sees, and it’s a lot harder being back there. Being back there, I have a newfound respect for Joe Rogan.”

When Baroni flies to Mumbai, India, he admits he’ll know a fraction of the people fighting before him. But he’ll follow Rogan’s lead in calling it like he sees it.

“There’s got to be some good athletes over there,” Baroni said. “The guys learn the sport fast. Look at Jon Jones. He was only in for a couple years before he was a champion.”

Today, there is more commentary work than ever in the UFC, as well as a great deal more competition. Although he’s gone on to commentate in dozens of regional events, Baroni may never get a chance to work with the UFC again. But he hopes that commentary one day replaces fighting.

He’s not done inside the cage, you see. Now, he’s just calling the shots.

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